Churches, public could play roles

OCEANSIDE – There are nearly 8,000 documented gang members in San Diego County, and about a quarter of them are in North County.

Twelve of the 24 gangs in North County are in Oceanside, including one with 313 members. One in rural Fallbrook has 83 members.

Those figures from the North County Regional Gang Task Force were discussed yesterday at a half-day conference for local and federal law enforcement.

Dubbed a "strategy session" by its sponsors, the conference focused on successes in the war on gangs and stressed the need for the public and churches to help law enforcement continue the fight.

"There's a lot of talk about international terrorism, but our neighborhoods are overrun by terrorists every day," said Michael Poehlman, who retired as Oceanside's police chief yesterday. "But what greater terrorism is there when you're afraid to go out of your home at night?"

Most people couldn't recognize if someone were a gang member, but the gangs are criminal enterprises associated with violence and illegal drug sales, Poehlman said.

In Fallbrook, graffiti is the main sign of a gang presence, said Manny Ortega, a member of the sheriff's Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol in that town.

"The biggest thing we have going for us is the strong community support for eradicating graffiti. It just doesn't stay up long," he said.

District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said court injunctions against documented gang members have been effective in suppressing gang behavior. Eleven injunctions are in effect in the county.

She said prosecution and prison have also helped. In 2003-04, 61 of the 68 gang-related homicides referred to the District Attorney's Office resulted in convictions, she said.

Dumanis and Sheriff Bill Kolender said the faith community needs to get involved.

"Neither the public nor law enforcement can solve the problem alone," said Kolender. "We need clergy, and we need the volunteers."

Poehlman and county Supervisor Bill Horn, who organized the conference, cited the Oceanside Ten Point Coalition as an example of what the faith community can do to combat gangs.

The group, with a motto of "Saving children from the soul up," is headed by Gerald Johnson, pastor of the City of Refuge Church of God in Christ in Oceanside and a chaplain with the Oceanside Police Department.

Johnson said the coalition's mission is to "minister, mentor and monitor" high-risk youth by placing its church-related volunteers on the streets of targeted neighborhoods in collaboration with law enforcement agencies.

Bob Vernon, a former assistant police chief in Los Angeles, said gangs have become substitutes for the family, and the traditional family – two parents, with the mother at home – is becoming a thing of the past.

"Raising kids has unfortunately been relegated to a low-level priority. There's no question if you don't have two parents giving you guidance, you have two strikes against you," Vernon said.

Said Johnson, "The family is the first line of defense against gangs."

Vernon is the founder of the PointMan Leadership Institute, which offers ethics training for police and military personnel.

Serge Duarte, head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in San Diego, said about 20 percent of documented gang members in the county are in the country illegally, and the aim of his agency is to "identify and deport" them.

Of 400 recent arrests by the North County Regional Gang Task Force, 225 resulted in deportations, said the agency's Lt. Gary Williams.

The public was not invited to yesterday's meeting at the North Coastal Regional Center on Mission Avenue, which was for law enforcement only. But tentative plans call for at least two sessions this year open to the public.

A documented gang member is one who fits criteria set by the state Department of Justice, according to the sheriff's gang detail.